ClueBy
TodayArchiveWord list

Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
YesNo
↻ New worksheet

Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. cold — not warm
  3. safe — a strongbox
  4. kick — in football
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. file — a document
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. file — a line of people
  9. bass — the fish
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. bass — low music
  13. race — a contest
  14. cold — an illness
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. perch — the fish
  18. shower — rain
  19. race — humankind
  20. shower — to wash
  21. race — the arms race
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. file — a tool

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com